FOREIGN NON-SPORTING AND UTILITY BREEDS. 
assure himself that the lambs were safe, 
and that no enemy was lurking near. 
These were his duties. But when wolves 
and bears grew scarce the shepherds ceased 
to value guardians who were no longer 
necessary, and who were less practically 
useful in the work of driving or rounding up 
the flock than the ordinary sheepdog proved 
to be. As a consequence the great dogs of 
the Pyrenees ceased to be bred, or were only 
bred to be sold to occasional admirers. A 
Belgian officer some years ago imported 
several, and the descendants of these per- 
haps still survive in a deteriorated type. 
Inferior cross-bred specimens may even 
yet be discovered in their original home, 
but the true dog of the Pyrenees is ex- 
ceedingly rare. M. Dretzen not very 
long ago searched through the whole range; 
and out of three hundred and fifty dogs that 
he examined he found only six presenting 
the characteristics of the pure race. These 
six he purchased, and took home to his 
kennels at Bois-Colombes, and they and 
their offspring are probably the only ex- 
amples now existing of the genuine breed. 
M. Dretzen’s most famous dog was Ch. 
Porthos, who was exhibited throughout 
Europe, and who died only a few months 
ago, and it was perhaps with justification 
that last year this splendid specimen of his 
kind was introduced to the President of the 
Republic as “the most beautiful dog in 
France,” for he was truly a magnificent 
animal. 
Of M. Dretzen’s other dogs the most 
notable are Ch. Birouk, Patou, Fracuesarou 
Zailea, Fachon Zailea, Dom Blas Zailea, 
and Ch. Birouk Zailea; and his bitches 
Pastoure and Aida are hardly less typically 
representative. Most of these, like Porthos, 
are pure milky white, but some have been 
touched with brindle grey or orange mark- 
ings about the ears and the tip of the 
tail. 
In general appearance the Pyrenean dog 
might be mistaken for a white St. Bernard, 
but the head is small in comparison with the 
body, the skull slightly rounded, and the 
muzzle long and rather snipy. The nose 
and lips are always black, and the eyes dark 
517 
and not large. The somewhat small and 
triangular ears hang close to the head. 
There is not much wrinkle about the face 
or forehead, and the flews are not heavy 
enough to weigh down the cheeks and 
disclose the haw. With strong, sloping 
shoulders, deep and well-rounded chest, a 
broad, slightly arched back, and powerful 
loins, the dog stands upon straight and 
well-boned legs and ample, rounded feet. 
His brush is usually one of his most attractive 
points ; it is long, carried low, and heavily 
feathered. The coat is long, straight and 
dense, lying close to the body. The dogs 
may be as high as 30 inches at the shoulder, 
with a weight of 155 lb., but Porthos con- 
siderably exceeded this size. 
About 1tg00 Mr. A. Muller used to show 
Bob, a magnificent dog of the breed, of vast 
size, white with a yellow patch on one ear. 
His height was about 30 inches, undoubt- 
edly the best seen in England. Mr. W. K. 
Taunton’s Malcolm is a typical specimen. 
The Komondor.—A dog which is some- 
times in error described as a Pyrenean dog 
is the smaller Komondor, or Hungarian 
sheepdog. Possibly they are related, for 
their points agree, but the Hungarian dog 
is seldom higher than 25 inches. His eyes 
are more oblique and set closer together 
than those of the Pyrenean, and his ears 
are rounder and more elevated, he is also 
longer in the couplings. One of the 
breed, by name Csinos, now the property 
of Miss Lefroy, of Norwich, was imported 
by the Baroness von Boeselager seven years 
ago. He is possibly the only specimen at 
present in England. Csinos is 23 inches at 
the shoulder, and he measures 43 inches 
from the tip of his nose to the set-on of his 
tail. He is light-eyed, and his nose is not 
black, but otherwise he is a good average 
example of his breed. He carries a beautiful, 
dense, cream-coloured coat. In Hungary 
these dogs are used for guarding the flocks 
from wolves, and they are not, properly 
speaking, sheepdogs. The pastoral dogs of 
the country are of various kinds. Those of 
the plains are reddish brown, with a sharp 
nose, short erect ears, shaggy coat and 
bushy tail, and they so much resemble the 
